1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spool around which wires or cords made of metal, plastic or the like, and, in particular, welding wires, may be wrapped. The spool includes one-piece segments, each forming a U-shaped wire bow having a cross bridge and legs, extending inwardly in radial planes. The free ends of the legs of the wire bow have extensions extending in the circumferential direction. These extensions, when joined together, form two parallel wire rings and, for joining the segments together, each have an indentation on the transition end of the associated U-leg.
2. The Prior Art
DE 25 03 567 C2 discloses a spool which is produced by joining segments together in a very simple and low-cost manner with a low number of welds. In regard to this spool, the cross bridges between the legs of the U-shaped wire bow form the support for the wires to be wound, i.e., the core of the coil is formed with it. With certain size dimensions for the spools, in particular, when the diameter ratio between the core of the coil and the central spool hub diameter reaches a certain order of magnitude, adapters are used which permit mounting the spool on a matching running axle.
Furthermore, DE 28 14 057 A1 discloses a spool which is assembled from individual one-piece segments, whereby both the diameter of the core of the coil and a central diameter of the spool hub are formed by these segments. However, the disadvantage of this known spool is that the segments forming the spool require four welds for joining two of such segments. Thus, the placement of the welds is made more difficult by their specific position and, therefore, a more costly welding device is required. Moreover, the design of the segments causes an increased material consumption.